We've been sifting our way through Fantastic Four casting rumours for several months now. While many of them have surely been bogus (Mila Kunis as The Thing, anyone?), there's bound to be some truth to what we've seen.
For a time, it looked like Marvel Studios has tapped Adam Driver, Margot Robbie, Paul Mescal, and Daveed Diggs to play Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing. It's a terrific cast...which later appeared to fall apart.
According to one online scooper, that foursome is who director Matt Shakman hoped to cast as Marvel's First Family. However, they all passed, suggesting none of them were blown away by what they saw in the script.
That's now undergone a number of rewrites and was about to receive another before the WGA strike began. Recently, we learned Driver chose not to play Reed Richards as he couldn't connect with what was on the page, a troubling sign for this Marvel Studios reboot.
The previous Fantastic Four movies all failed and if this effort follows suit, that's likely it for these heroes on screen (a waste of a franchise which has the potential to be as successful as The Avengers).
While an offer has seemingly gone out to Matt Smith, it appears Driver is still on the table. Of the two, he's by far the better actor; while Smith has impressed in House of the Dragon, he has a dismal track record on the big screen after starring in flops like Terminator Genisys and Morbius.
It's previously been reported that Antonio Banderas will play Galactus; whether there's any truth to that, we simply don't know at this stage.
Fantastic Four is set to be released in theaters on February 14, 2025.